Josh Kraft

Kraft is the third-born of four boys. His brothers are Jonathan, Daniel, and David. His parents are Robert Kraft and the late Myra Kraft. Myra died of ovarian cancer in July 2011. Kraft's father is a billionaire, being the CEO of the Kraft Group and owner of the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Josh is believed to be one of the future heirs of his father's fortune. In a 2008 profile, Mary Moore of Boston Business Journal idiomatically described his upbringing as having included "silver-spoon comforts" by virtue of his family wealth. Kraft attended high school at the Rivers School, graduating in 1985. Kraft received his bachelor's degree from Williams College, graduating in 1989. He received his master's degree in education and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. ==Nonprofit management career ==

Kraft has had an extensive career as an executive at nonprofit organizations. Kraft is considered a well-recognized figure in the city of Boston, both due to his work at nonprofits and his status as a scion of a wealthy and high-profile family. Boys & Girls Club of Boston Kraft spent 30 years working at the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. In 1993, Kraft established the organization's branch in Chelsea, Massachusetts (the Jordan Boys & Girls Club) and was that branch's executive director until 2008. a role he held for twelve years. As CEO, he led a $132 million fundraising campaign. He stepped down as head of the organization in 2020. In this role, he regularly distributes millions of dollars of his family's wealth annually to various causes. Kraft partnered the organization with the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation to provide meals to veterans and their families. with Kraft succeeding outgoing chairman Joseph Feaster Jr. baseball executive Sam Kennedy and Massachusetts governor Maura Healey while participating in a 2024 event commemorating the tenth anniversary of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Kraft also is on the board of trustees for Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is also on the boards of Beaver Country Day School, Camp Harbor View Foundation, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation, Rivers School, and the Museum of Science. As of 2023, Kraft was teaching a course at Suffolk University on nonprofit management. ==Politics==

Political donations In 2021, Kraft gave $150,000 to Democratic Majority for Israel. At the federal level, Kraft has given sizable personal donations to House and Senate candidates of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Kraft donated to the political campaign operation of former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker (a Republican). During the 2023 Boston City Council election, Kraft donated to a slate of candidates that had been prominently backed by New Balance CEO, major Republican donor, and Trump supporter Jim Davis. This slate of candidates were running as challengers to candidates supported by Wu. This was unsuccessful, as all of the candidates that Wu had endorsed won election. 2025 Boston mayoral campaign After Charlie Baker declined to seek reelection in 2022, Kraft was seen as a potential candidate for governor. There was also speculation that Kraft might challenge incumbent U.S. congresswoman Ayanna Pressley in the 2024 Democratic primary for Massachusetts's 7th congressional district. He was perceived to be more politically centrist than Pressley. Kraft publicly expressed an openness to running for political office. Kraft has voiced opposition to expanding bike lanes downtown, saying that if elected he would put an "immediate pause" on bike lane construction, and that "Centre Street [in West Roxbury] could be one of the bike lanes we remove." Kraft raised $6.8 million for his campaign prior to the preliminary round vote, (primarily wealthy donors, including Boston business leaders). In July 2025, Kraft's campaign sent out a series of fundraising emails purportedly from prominent Democratic politicians, including Sen. Adam Schiff (CA), Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX), former governor Roy Cooper (NC), and retired brigadier general Shawn Harris (GA), which were not approved by the identified politicians. Wu campaign treasurer Robert Binney called on the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance to investigate, saying "at best these practices are highly deceptive and negligent, at worst they are illegal violations of our state campaign finance laws." Kraft campaign spokesperson Eileen O'Connor stated in response that the unauthorized emails were "an error on the part of our vendor." Kraft came in second in the primary, trailing incumbent mayor Michelle Wu by 49 percentage points. His second-place finish qualified him to face Wu on the general election ballot. However, two days after the primary, Kraft announced he would withdraw from the election. ==Personal life==

Kraft spent much of his life residing in Newton, Massachusetts. in the North End neighborhood of Boston where Kraft moved to with his partner Michelle Perez Vichot. Kraft is divorced, and has two adult daughters. In 2023, Kraft revealed that he had been diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer in 2018. He mentioned that it had been detected early, and that he was currently testing at levels that indicate his cancer is essentially gone. ==Awards and honors received==

• Williams College "Bicentennial Medal" (2010) • Rivers School "Alumni Excellence Award" (2014) • The Salvation Army Massachusetts Division "Others Award" (2022) Kraft was the commencement speaker at Nichols College's spring 2023 commencement ceremony, where he was given a honorary doctorate in Humane Letters. The Boys & Girls Club of Boston has named one of its facilities the "Josh Kraft Mattapan Teen Center". In 2023, Boston magazine ranked Kraft and his brothers Daniel and Jonathan at number 11 on its annual list of the "most influential Bostonians", grouping these three Kraft brothers as a single entity. In 2025, Josh Kraft was ranked at No. 37 on the list, and his brother Jonathan was ranked at No. 12. ==References==